Figures from the US’s largest cities indicate that rental property vacancies across the nation are on the decline. According to real estate analysis firm Reis Inc., the vacancy rate in the US fell nearly two percent from the first quarter of 2010.
“Rental activity during the winter season is typically slow because consumers prefer to avoid apartment hunting and moving in chilly weather. But landlords filled 44,000 more units than were vacant in the first quarter, the strongest first quarter in a decade,” reported Dawn Wotapka of The Wall Street Journal.
This decline can be attributed to a number of factors such as:
Another explanation may relate to an increasing number of foreclosures. The Wall Street Journal reported in April 2011 last month that major lenders such as Fannie Mae have been facing growing foreclosure numbers for the last several years, noting that the lender acquired 232 properties due to foreclosures in 2010.
“Unemployment of close to 9 percent and a surge in home foreclosures have pushed many people to rent, driving a rebound in multifamily properties during the past year. Construction of apartments has climbed from a 50-year low on expectations that rents will increase and more people will seek to lease,” wrote Hui-yong Yu for Bloomberg.
Certainly this market activity has had a weighty impact on renters. As the demand for apartments climbs, renters will see a corresponding increase in monthly rates and a decrease renter perks such as decreased fees and price incentives.
According to an April 6th Reuters news report, the apartment rental vacancy rate in New York City is the lowest in the US at less than three percent. Not surprisingly, the city also boasts the highest average rental rate at just under $2,800 a month. The highest vacancy rate in the nation, according to the same report, is in Memphis, Tennessee, where there is an 11 percent vacancy rate and tenants can expect to pay an average rent of roughly $600 a month.
Household utility bills are amongst the costliest monthly expenses for any renter or homeowner but luckily, there are more than a few simple tricks anyone can use to cut an energy bill.
Light Up Your Life – for Less!
If your parents ever told you to “Turn off all these dang lights!” or “Close the door, we’re not paying to air-condition the whole neighborhood!” as a child, then you’re already familiar with surefire cost-cutting measure number one – conserve. While old-fashioned, this is truly the most time-honored way to save cents. Along these lines, you should also make an effort to utilize your home’s natural light to the fullest.
As citizens of the 21st century, we can also save energy through additional means not available to our parents’ generation. One such way to cut lighting costs in a home is to replace traditional incandescent bulbs with Compact Fluorescent, or CFL, bulbs which expend a fraction of the energy of a traditional light bulb.
In fact, a non-profit group called Green Light New Orleans has made a mission of this very task. Green Light New Orleans offers to replace your existing bulbs with CFL bulbs (9-, 14-, 20-, or 23-watt) free of charge.
H20 Woes
According to the US Department of Energy, renters and homeowners can save on energy bills by keeping household water heaters set at a temperature of 120 degrees. According to the DOE’s Energy Saver tips, “For each 10 degree Fahrenheit reduction in water temperature, you can save between 3 and 5 percent in energy costs.”
Hot Times in the City
Summer energy bills in New Orleans are high; as summer without air-conditioning here is like winter in Antarctica without heat, running the AC 24-7 is almost a necessity. This, of course, becomes costly quite quickly but there are a few ways to keep your bill from becoming too outrageous.
Depending on how much sun your home gets, you may want to consider purchasing specialized window treatments designed to block sun. You’ll be surprised at how much easier it is to maintain a cool temperature in your home without the natural solar energy of the sun seeping in. Just be sure to consult your community manager (if you are renting) prior.
Cooking, too, can be an arduous task in the too-hot summer months. Anyone who’s roasted a turkey can tell you that using an oven will heat up more than your meal. To combat this, it may be a great idea to invest in some type of outdoor grilling apparatus. If you don’t have a yard, a toaster, microwave, or even a countertop grill machine will emit less heat than a standard oven.
A move into a new home is an occasion for stress, but also celebration. When a friend or loved one moves into a new residence, it is a nice gesture to give that person a gift for the home. If your friend or friends throw a housewarming party, a gift is almost a necessity.
Since the home is such a personal space, selecting an appropriate, and affordable, gift may be difficult. If you’re troubled for ideas, check out a few of the selections below and you’ll have the perfect gift selected in no time!
Ladies
Certain gifts, such as wine or spirits, are usually a fine, but not very personal, gift choice. For a female friend, a housewarming gift such as stationery or a piece of artwork that reflects her taste is a less generic choice.
A live plant is a timeless gift choice as well. A plant can be personalized with a hand-painted pot or ribbon, but another way to personalize a live plant gift is in the selection. If your friend has a favorite scent or color, follow those cues. If not, consider the individual for whom you’re buying the plant. Is she attentive, or forgetful? Busy or bored? Use these details to select a plant based on the amount of care the plant requires.
Gentlemen
For your favorite fella, consider the gift of grub. Rather than a fancy sausage and cheese basket, which can be expensive and a touch impersonal, consider assembling your own snack gift basket. If you’re feeling domestic, you might even bake a tray of cookies!
A less labor-intensive option is a gift certificate. Find a great restaurant in your friend’s new neighborhood and purchase a gift certificate for dinner for two. This kind of gift is very thoughtful and will help your friend get to know his new neighborhood a little better.
Couples
Buying a housewarming gift for a couple is a touch more difficult, as you want to select something that appeals to both people. For couples, a gift for entertaining or for the kitchen is almost always a safe bet. A cheese board and knife set is an appropriate for couples that enjoy dinner parties. A pizza stone, popsicle maker, or wine glasses are great gift options as well.
The kitchen is a beloved oasis in any home, yet in a shared space, the kitchen has the explosive potential of a minefield to blow relationships asunder. A grimy, funky, kitchen can divide even the closest of roomies, so it’s important to follow a few general rules of thumb when it comes to caring for shared rooms in a home. Check out a few of the suggestions below and it may just save your friendship!
The Dreaded Dirty Dishes
Mother Goose must’ve been inspired by someone like my old roommate because the pots and pans that accrued in our old sink could’ve grown legs and run off with the dish and the spoon. That is to say, unless your roommate is a mycologist, the sink is no place for experimental growth.
To address such a problem with your own housemate, it’s best to talk things out. Try to work out a schedule to share responsibility. If you prefer each roommate wash their own dishes, set a time limit of one or two hours after each meal that dishes can remain in the sink.
If problems with dishes persist, biodegradable, single-use cutlery and plates are available at just about any grocery store.
Counter Space
In most apartments, kitchen counter space is at a premium. For this reason it’s important to respectfully share space. Save space by keeping cookbooks on a separate bookshelf and keep appliance cords tucked out of the way. Lingering grocery bags and food items also take up valuable space, so put items in drawers or cupboards as soon as you get home from the store.
Odor vs. Aroma
Like so many rooms, the kitchen can smell delightful or appalling. A weekly cleaning will keep general scum at bay and will prevent creepy crawlers from foraging for leftovers in your kitchen.
Food odors are a little trickier. Badly burnt food items, for example, have a terrible odor and should be removed from the kitchen immediately after you ensure the item is not on fire. This might sound silly, but often an item can continue smoldering after it hits the trash. This is especially true of grease fires – don’t douse these in water, as it might spread the flames. Instead use baking soda to extinguish the flames.
The odor of burnt food isn’t the only off-putting kitchen smell, however. Some individuals have strong aversions to scents such as grease, popcorn, or curry; if your housemate has a sensitive nose, be considerate of their opinion. Cook the offending item when your roommate isn’t home and turn on kitchen fans to ensure plenty of ventilation.
Any renter is likely familiar with the time-honored tradition of the security deposit, a fee (often a month’s rent) paid in advance by the renter to cover any damages made during occupation of a property.
“It’s quite common for landlords to require their tenants to pay a security deposit at the beginning of a lease. And this makes economic sense,” professor Peter Malaguti explains in the Massachusetts School of Law podcast “A Point of Law”.
“Landlords often don’t discover that a tenant has damaged a rental unit until the end of the lease when the tenant is gone and often hard to find,” he says.
“My advice to tenants is that you too should learn the law of security deposits in your state,” he says. “Most states consider the security deposit to be your money and you should take reasonable steps to protect your deposit.”
Below are a few suggestions for renters on how to ensure the return of a deposit.
For renters experiencing a conflict with a landlord, such as a deposit the renter feels is being unfairly withheld, Malaguti suggests consulting a professional. “An experienced landlord-tenant attorney in your state is the person best qualified to render competent advice on security deposits,” he says.
1st Lake Properties | P. O. Box 73709 | Metairie, LA 70033 | info@1stlake.com
